Uncle W. Scott APPLEBACH in the newspapers

 Uncle W. Scott APPLEBACH in the newspapers

The below articles are ones that I have found for WS APPLEBACH in the first quarter of the 1900's. 

Within the family, he was remembered by his peers as having a short fuse, possibly a drinker but a sometimes bouncer in Lancaster bars during the 1940s-1960s, a wife beater, childless, and prone to look for trouble to get into. 

In case you need a reminder, Winfield SCOTT and Zachary TAYLOR, were contemporaries that were both heroes during the war we had with Mexico in the 1840's over Texas. They were known as "Fuss and Feathers". It is ironic that these APPLEBACH twins were named that forty years later by a couple that rarely, if ever, left southeastern Penn - especially Lancaster County, PA.

In 1906, Scott married Mabel OVERLY. He would have been 19 or 20.

Scott and Mabel married in July and had a daughter on Dec. 29, 1906. Her name was Catherine APPLEBACH. I have not done enough research yet to find out if she died, or just disappeared from sight after the divorce in 1911. 

But this proves that he had at least one child, but for whatever reason the older family I had contact with always said he was childless.

In 1908, Scott appeared in court for paying support to his wife. One says $3 a week and the other $2 a week.

In the 1910 census, Mabel and Catherine APPLEBACH are listed as living with Mabel's parents in Ephrata, PA.

Finally in 1911, Mabel had enough and divorced Scott.

In September of 1912, he remarried. I do have vague memories of Aunt Eva (MOYER) APPLEBACH. During an interview before she died, she told me that Scott and her never had children. She also stated that he would disappear for weeks or months at a time, and then show back up with no explanation of where he had been. She admitted he was violent and did "hit" her when he was around.

Here is the marriage notice that was in the newspaper.

By all accounts, Scott and his twin Taylor stayed in touch and did many activities together as adults.

The US got into the ongoing war in Europe in 1917. WWI took the lives of many US males, and permanently affected many more. Patriotism and "kill the Hun" was the feeling of the day for many folks in the US, and whether drafted or volunteered, the "boys" seemed to want to go.

Scott APPLEBACH was sent to Camp (Ft.) Dix, NJ in Sept. 1918.

He apparently arrived there just in time to probably get the Spanish Flu. See the previous post for more info on this.

Scott must have been able to return to some duty in November - hence the promotion and new duty location.

At Christmas time 1918, Scott was in Lancaster for a visit. The newspaper notes he is at Camp Dix. Without access to his military record, it is impossible to know if he had a relapse in health, had cancelled orders to NY, or what exactly happened that he is still at Camp Dix and not in NY.

In Oct. 1920, he and Eva are listed as having attended a birthday party for his mom.

In 1922, Scott and Taylor were playing in a pinochle league.

In 1923, Scott is involved in the Eagles.

Both Gr-uncle Scott and Taylor (Pop) APPLEBACH were cut from the same cloth. I remember them both as bullies, and very full of themselves. 

Per stories told by Aunt Fran (APPLEBACH) WOODS, Grandma Jennie would not allow Scott in her house because he "drank so much" and was unkind to her. I would say that to some extent this is shown by the news articles and my notes of the memories of those who knew him much longer than I did.

PLEASE NOTE: 
ALL PHOTOS AND WRITTEN CONTENT ARE MY OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

SCOTT W. APPLEBACH & THE SPANISH FLU

SCOTT W. APPLEBACH & THE SPANISH FLU

I have racked my brain for references that I remember about older relatives discussing the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. It had to be an important event for anyone alive in 1918, but it is a void as far as my memories from listening to older folks talk. 

On vacation in 2023, while haunting bookstores I found this book. There was an entire chapter on Ft. Dix, NJ and the mess the Spanish Flu caused there. Ft. Dix rang a bell in my brain. After going through several files, I realized that Uncle Scott APPLEBACH had been at Ft. Dix during the right time.

I have not even tried to get his military records. The website Fold 3 showed me he had been in the Army during WWI. His enlistment ran from Sept. 6, 1918 to Jan. 18, 1919.

Ancestry.com had his enlistment card from 1917. I found all kinds of stuff for his marriages but only 3 items to do with his military service.

So, I thought the best place to see about him during this time frame might be Newspapers.com because the personal columns tended to have all kinds of hometown news.

Jackpot...

I did not find anything that specifically said Scott had Spanish Flu and survived it, but there is evidence that it is very possible.

The first mention that he may have been sick was in the Lancaster newspaper on Oct. 7, 1918. Per his mom, Elizabeth APPLEBACH, he was in Ft. Dix and had "recovered from his recent illness and was able to leave the hospital." 

By November 1918, Scott APPLEBACH was able to make a weekend trip back to Lancaster.

Another news article in November 1918 is about his promotion as a "very plucky soldier". Considering he did not see active duty in Europe - he was only in 4 months - he had to have done something else of importance. Per the definition of plucky on Google, the word in 1918 meant "someone demonstrating a tenacious spirit that defied obstacles and hardships." During the Spanish Flu, people who survived it would have been a perfect ideal of this definition.

This next document shows APPLEBACH, Winfield as discharged on Jan. 18, 1919. He is listed in the left-hand column the fourth name down under "Private". This document does not appear to list anyone as died, only discharged or transferred.

America was in WW1 officially from April 6, 1917 to Nov. 11, 1918. After that anyone who could be discharged would have been, and for people with long term health issues this would have been a good answer to get them out of the military, especially if they had no interest in remaining in. 

Plus he went in as "limited service" men for classified work per another article in the Lancaster newspaper dated Sept. 7, 1918. I am not sure what "limited service" meant but I think I have heard it referred to as for a limited reason or time. Maybe at a later date I can do more research on this because now I am really curious.

I found three documents on Ancestry.com that are about Uncle Scott's army days. One was the enlistment card earlier in this post. The other two have to do with his filing for compensation from the Army, both are dated 1934. 

The above document says Scott was expecting to get $40 for his four months of service.

All the sources have the same enlistment date and discharge date. The above application clearly says "Convalescent Center" as where he was stationed - that is not just a hospital, but a place for long term care. According to the book Pandemic 1918 most people who got the Spanish Flu and survived took weeks or months to recover enough strength to even attempt "normal" life activities.

I believe it is very possible that Uncle Scott APPLEBACH survived the Spanish Flu. Getting his military record would prove it, or not. But considering the time frame it is likely.